Provenance: The Ralph Siu Papers were donated in 2009 to the University of Toledo by William Lanouette, Ph.D., of Washington, D.C., on behalf of the International Society for Panetics, Inc.

Access: Open

Related Collections: Glenn Geelhoed Papers, MSS-223.

Collection Summary: Ralph Siu was the founder of the International Society for Panetics (1917-1998), an organization dedicated to measuring and relieving the suffering of people around the world. The Ralph Siu Papers highlight Siu’s public and professional life as author, scientist, and military and civil servant. The collection contains correspondence; biographical and personal files; book, article, and lecture series; newspaper clippings and newsletters; photographs; and various media material. There are also brochures, articles, and papers related to panetics.

Copyright: The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns. Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code. The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

Dr. Ralph G. H. Siuwas an author, research scientist, military and civil servant, philosopher, and founding member of the International Society for Panetics (ISP).

Dr. Siu was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1917 to Siu Yan and Siu Kau Shee. In 1923, he attended Kaiulani Elementary and in 1924, he began attending the St. Louis College preparatory school, which he attended until 1935. In 1929, Siu began also attending Chung-Shan High School. After graduating high school in 1935, Siu was admitted to the University of Hawaii, where he received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1939, and his master’s degree in plant physiology in 1941. His thesis was on a new method of vegetative propagation of the pineapple. While at the University of Hawaii, Siu received the silver and gold medal in dramatics, was elected to the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, received honors in chemistry, was named an Ivy Orator, and received Real Dean recognition. In 1941, Siu began attending the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Siu received his Ph.D. in bio-organic chemistry in 1943. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on chemical studies related to the development of plant embryos.

From 1943 to 1945, while still living in Pasadena, Siu began work as a chemist “P-2” on the Emergency Rubber Project for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In February 1945, he became Expert Consultant in the Office of the Quartermaster General stationed at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot. Siu progressed through various job titles while at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot including: chemist P-4, chief biological chemist P-5, chief of biological laboratories, and research director.

In 1949, two changes occurred in Siu’s life. He became research associate at Harvard University in Cambridge Massachusetts, and he met Irene I-lien Hsu. On February 12, 1950, the two were married in Yonkers, New York. In 1951, Siu became associate technical director at the Office of the Quartermaster General in Washington, D.C. It was also during this year that his first book, Microbial Decomposition of Cellulose, was published. In 1954, Siu became technical director and chief scientist under the supervision of Colonel William Mantz and Major General Andrew McNamara. In 1955, Siu discovered and patented a method of making fine inherently curly glass filaments and in 1956, patented another method of forming filamentous panels. Both patents were to be manufactured by and for the government without royalty payments to the inventor. It was also during this time that Siu took part in the U.S. Army’s radiation preservation of foods program, editing the book, Radiation Preservation of Foods, published by the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1957. Siu would later receive a certificate of appreciation from the U.S. Departmental Committee on Radiation Preservation of Food for his work in this area

In 1958, Siu received special recognition from the Department of the Army for exceptional civilian service. That year, MIT Press published Siu’s Tao of Science from which he gained some “enthusiastic readers.”1 From 1962 to 1967, Siu was made (concurrently) Equal Employment Opportunity Officer and Scientific Director of the research division with the U.S. Army Materiel Command. During this time, Siu also held positions as Chairman of the Army Research Council and as Deputy Director of Research and Development Directorate.

In 1968, MIT Press published Siu’s The Man of Many Qualities: A Legacy of the I-Ching, which, in 1971, was published under the title The Portable Dragon. This book offers examples of the 64 changes in I-Ching with illustrations from Western literature. In 1968, Siu also became Associate Administrator of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration with the Department of Justice under the supervision of Attorney General Ramsey Clark. He was then made director of the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice and became an honorary member of the United States Military Police Corps. In March 1969, Ralph Siu retired from government service to become a private consultant but continued to write and lecture and to receive recognition for his civilian service.

After retirement, Dr. Siu wrote articles and books on the synthesis of East-West psycho-philosophical thought. The 1970s and 1980s saw the publication of many articles such as “Chinese Baseball and Public Administration,” “Work and Serenity,” and “America and the Future of Man,” as well as four books: Ch’i: A Neo-Taoist Approach to Life, The Craft of Power, Transcending the Power Game, and The Master Manager.

In 1986, an article appeared in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology written by Siu titled, “Panetics: The Study of the Infliction of Suffering.” It was at this point that Siu introduced the world to Panetics, the study of the infliction of suffering that uses the “dukkha” as a way to measure suffering. Siu believed that “if suffering were quantified it would not be ignored as a factor in decision making.”

In 1991, Siu, among others, founded the International Society for Panetics (ISP). In 1994, the ISP published three titles by him known as the “Panetics Trilogy”: Less Suffering for Everybody, Panetics and Dukkha, and Seeds of Reflection. Throughout the 1990s, Siu was invited by various academic institutions and organizations to lecture on Panetics and wrote many articles on the discipline, most of which were published by the ISP in its journal Panetics. Dr. Siu continued to write and lecture until his death on December 29, 1998, at George Washington University Hospital. His books continued to be published after his passing. In 1999, three of his works were published by ISP called the “Harmony Trilogy”: Unifying Theory of the Human Organism and Behavior, Cheerfulness, and Shaping One’s Own Life.

1Rosenfeld, Megan. Pain by the Numbers: Ralph Siu’s Science of Suffering Sizes Up the Agony of the Species. The Washington Post, 1994.

1917

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Siu Yan and Siu Kau Shee.

1939

Graduated with B.S. and M.S. from University of Hawaii.

1943

Graduated with Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology.

1945

Stationed at Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot as Expert Consultant and chemist.

Received Quartermaster Research and Engineering Command Certificate of Appreciation.

1966-1968

Deputy Director, U.S Army Materiel Command, Washington D.C.

1968-1969

Associate Administrator, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, Department of Justice, Washington D.C. Made Honorary Member of the U.S. Military Police Corps.

1969

Received Certificate of Honor from the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.

1970

Department of Army Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service with Laurel Leaf Charter.

1979

Craft of Power published.

1986

Article titled “Panetics: The Study of the Infliction of Suffering” appears in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology.

1994

Panetics Trilogy published.

1998

Dies on December 29 from congestive heart failure at George Washington University Hospital.

1999

Inducted into the United States Army Quartermaster Corp Hall of Fame at Fort Lee, Virginia. Harmony Trilogy published.

Scope and Content Note

The materials which comprise the Ralph Siu papers highlight his public and professional life as author, scientist, and military and civil servant dating from 1945 to 2005.

Correspondence files include personal correspondence (which is limited) and professional correspondence (which makes up the majority of the series). The series includes letters to and from university administrators, faculty and staff, military and civil service personnel, and well known individuals such as Senator Edward M. Kennedy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Senator and Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and Senator Strom Thurmond, among others. Correspondence that contains the signatures of prominent individuals has been placed in restricted folders. Copies are available to researchers.

Biographical and personal files consists of awards and certificates presented to Dr. Siu along with personal materials such as a handwritten curriculum vitae, a copyright and patent list, and a scrapbook of clippings used in correlation with his studies on Panetics.

The book, article, and lecture series consists of completed works on various topics, typescripts for completed and uncompleted works, as well as articles and papers relating especially, though not exclusively, to Panetics.

The printed material series consists of newspaper, newsletter and magazine articles about Ralph Siu. Publications include the Washington Post, Atlantic Monthly, and Boston Globe among others. Also included are three books inscribed by the authors to Ralph Siu.

Photographs and media series includes photos of Ralph Siu’s family members, in particular his parents, uncle, and grandmother. There are also photos of ISP members and conferences. The collection largely consists of photographs of Ralph Siu and many prominent individuals associated especially with his civil and military service. Some notable individuals include John F. Kennedy, Ramsey Clark, Andrew T. McNamara, James Scheuer, and Wilber Brucker. Photographs signed by prominent individuals have been placed in restricted folders, while copies are available to researchers. The media subseries consist of floppy disks, cassette tapes, and VHS tapes which hold drafts of published and unpublished literary material, articles, ISP meeting, website and homepage information, as well as back issues of the Panetics newsletter.

The International Society of Panetics (ISP) series contains material that introduces Panetics, including a statement of purpose. There is also an illustrative outline of Panetics. Included as well are meeting minutes, a membership list, a complete list of founding members, the first board report, introductory and global forum brochures, as well as information regarding the purpose and plan for an ISP homepage on the Internet.

The Articles and Papers series relating to Panetics is arranged chronologically dating from 1979 to 2006, with an undated folder, and consists of various articles, poems, and essays regarding the study of Panetics. Contributors include ISP members, including board members, and others affiliated with the ISP organization and the study of Panetics. Also included in this series is a Ph.D. dissertation based on Panetics titled “The Universal Duty to Alleviate Inflicted Suffering.”

Includes both personal and professional correspondence. Among the correspondents represented in this series are the following noteworthy personalities: Edward M. Kennedy (1968), J. Edgar Hoover (1969), Ramsey Clark (1979), Hubert Humphrey (1961), Strom Thurmond (1962), Sam Rayburn (1961), Y.S. Sun (1975), Johan Galtung, and James Scheuer. Signed noteworthy correspondence deemed restricted by the Canaday Center is located in Box 9, Folder 321, in lock box “C.” Copies were placed into the collection.

Contains personal items and material such as awards, certificates of honor, special event programs & invitations, curriculum vitae (including a handwritten copy), book, copyright & patent list, scrapbook, Quartermaster Hall of Fame plaque, and a medal for distinguished member of the quartermaster regiment.

S3

BOOK, ARTICLE AND LECTURE FILES Various Dates Arranged alphabetically by title

Contains typescripts, and printed copies of many of Siu’s books, articles, and lectures. Also contains the text of several interviews with Dr. Siu, as well as reviews of some of Siu’s works.

S4

PRINTED MATERIAL 1963-2000, & undated Arranged alphabetically Consists of books, newspaper, newsletter, and magazine articles. Publications include the Atlantic Monthly, Washington Post, Army Research and Development News, Panetics, Business and Society Review, Wall Street Journal, and Boston Globe. Contains three books inscribed by authors to Ralph Siu. Titles and authors are: Zen: Poems, Prayers, Sermons, Anecdotes, Interviews by Lucien Stryk and Takashi Ikemoto; Experimenting With Truth, by Rustum Roy; A Little Compendium On That Which Matters, by Frederick Franck.

S5

PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEDIA

Subseries A: Photographs 1942-1998, & undated This series consists mostly of photographs of Ralph Siu from 1942 until 1998. Many of the photos relate to Dr. Siu’s military and civil service. Included are photos of Ralph Siu’s parents, uncle, and grandmother, ISP meetings, conferences, and notable individuals such as John F. Kennedy, Ramsey Clark, Andrew T. McNamara, James Scheuer, and Wilber Brucker.

Contains photographs inscribed by such notable individuals as President Lyndon B. Johnson, 66th U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, General William B. Bunker, General Henry A. Miley, and Lt. General Andrew T. McNamara.

Subseries C: Media 1992-1999, & undated. Arranged alphabetically

Includes taped meetings and forum, drafts, back issues of Panetics newsletter, articles for ISP website, and ISP homepage information.

S6

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PANETICS (ISP)

1991-2005 Arranged Alphabetically

Contains a list of founding members, reports, minutes, brochures, ISP homepage and materials relating to the purpose of the ISP.

S7

ARTICLE AND PAPERS REALATING TO PANETICS

1979-2006, & undated Arranged Chronologically

Contains various articles and papers relating to Panetics by various authors including reprints from the ISP website.

Inventory

Box

Folder

Arrangement

SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE

1

1

1945

1

2

1947

1

3

1949

1

4

1951

1

5

1958

1

6

1959

1

7

1960

1

8

1961

1

9

1962

1

10

1963

1

11

1964

1

12

1965

1

13

1966

1

14

1967

1

15

1968

1

16

1969

1

17

1971

1

18

1972

1

19

1973

1

20

1974

1

21

1975

1

22

1976

1

23

1977

1

24

1978

1

25

1979

1

26

1980

1

27

1981

1

28

1982

1

29

1983

1

30

1985

1

31

1986

1

32

1987

1

33

1988

1

34

1989

1

35

1990

1

36

1991 (January-July)

1

37

1991 (August-December)

1

38

1992 (January-February)

1

39

1992 (March-May)

1

40

1992 (June-September)

1

41

1992 (October-December)

1

42

1993 (January-July)

1

43

1993 (August-December)

1

44

1993 Undated

1

45

1994 (January-April)

1

46

1994 (May-August)

1

47

1994 (September-December)

1

48

1995

1

49

1996 (January-April)

1

50

1996 (May-August)

1

51

1996 (September-December)

1

52

1997 (January-March)

1

53

1997 (April-June)

1

54

1997 (July-September)

1

55

1997 (October-December)

1

56

1998 January-March)

1

57

1998 (April-June)

1

58

1998 (July-September)

1

59

1998 (October-December)

1

60

1999

1

61

2000

1

62

2001

1

63

2002

9

64

Restricted Files (located in lock box “C”)

1

65

Undated Files

SERIES 2: PERSONAL FILES

6

193

Army Science Conference Banquet, toastmaster Ralph Siu, 1968.

6

194

Books, copyrights, patents list, n.d.

6

195

Career Service Awards Dinner, honoree Ralph Siu, 1961

6

196

Certificate, Arctic Research Laboratory, 1963

6

197

Certificate of Honor, Nat’l Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, 1969.

6

198

Curriculum Vitae, n.d.

6

199

Curriculum Vitae, handwritten “records”, n.d.

6

200

Distinguished Member of the Quartermaster Regiment, Medal, n.d.

6

201

Invitation, Inauguration of John F. Kennedy, 1961.

6

202

The Jubilee Conference of the Textile Institute, program, 1960

6

203

Launch of Explorer I, 10th Anniversary, program, 1968.

*7

265

Quartermaster Hall of Fame, award, 1997.

6

204

Quartermaster Hall of Fame, Induction Ceremony, 1999, 2000.

*7

266

Quartermaster Hall of Fame, plaque, n.d.

6

205

Quartermaster Regimental Honors Dinner, invitation and program, 2000.

6

206

Scrapbook, “Notes Possibly Related to Panetics” 1997-1998.

SERIES 3: BOOKS, ARTICLES, AND LECTURE FILES

2

66

“Aggressive Institutional Style,” 1994

2

67

“An Institute of Panetics,” 1995

2

68

“Arrogant, Abrasive Personal Style,” 1994

2

69

“Basic Axioms,” n.d.

2

70

Cheerfulness, 1999.

2

71

Cheerfulness, typescript, 1995

2

72

Cheerfulness, typescript, 1995 (copy2)

2

73

Ch’i: A Neo-Taoist Approach to Life, 1974

2

74

Choosing the President: 1984, typescript, 1983

2

75

Choosing the President: 1984, typescript, 1983 (copy2)

2

76

“Civility as Pith and Mask,” lecture at the University of Massachusetts, 1982

2

77

“Civility as Pith and Mask,” lecture at the University of Massachusetts, 1982, (draft)

2

78

“Clinton, Dole, and the Dukkha,” talk before the Cogswell Society, 1996

2

79

The Craft of Power, 1979

2

80

“Curriculum Panetics: An Appeal to University Presidents and Provosts,” 1996